Statement: Republican Lawsuit Threatens Protections for Pre-existing Conditions and Affordability of Health Care for Millions of Our Nation’s Families    - Families USA Skip to Main Content
12.18.2019 /

Statement: Republican Lawsuit Threatens Protections for Pre-existing Conditions and Affordability of Health Care for Millions of Our Nation’s Families   

Washington, D.C. – Frederick Isasi, Executive Director of Families USA, issued the following statement regarding the US Court of Appeals sending the health care repeal lawsuit back to the district court.

Health Care on the Chopping Block for Millions as Lawsuit Heads Back to the District Court

“Families USA is extremely disappointed that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit is putting health care for millions of families in serious jeopardy through this decision.

The future of health insurance is hanging by a thread because of the Republicans’ hyper-partisan attacks. Make no mistake. Congressional Republicans created this problem. In 2017, after failing to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Republican leadership in the Congress and President Trump snuck a health care provision in the 2017 tax bill. Hyper-partisan Republican state Attorneys General used that change to engineer this tragic and legally unsound lawsuit.

Now, a lower court judge will decide who loses health care, due to this decision. Will it be people with pre-existing conditions, people relying on support to make private health insurance more affordable, middle-class people in the individual market, children, adults, families, seniors, people with disabilities, or all of the above? The District Court also will have to determine whether the results of the case should impact only the states that brought the lawsuit or the whole country.

The Fifth Circuit’s lack of action means vital protections for people with pre-existing health conditions — and for all people who use health care and health insurance — still hang in the balance. The last thing the health care system and America’s families need is more uncertainty.

People across this nation struggle more and more as health care becomes increasingly unaffordable. Why would Republican leadership support a lawsuit that drives up families’ health care costs by taking away federal financial help?

While we wait for the district court to make its decision, consumers should know that their health insurance remains intact and they should continue to pay their premiums. This hyper-partisan and unsound lawsuit still has many months to go.